Another UK retailer cuts Wii U price

Shops believed to be selling console at a loss to shift units

A second UK games retailer has slashed the Wii U price in a bid to stimulate sales.

Last week, British supermarket chain Asda introduced a Wii U price cut of £50, and now online specialist games retailer ShopTo has followed suit.

While Asda is offering basic and premium versions of the console for £199 and £249 respectively, ShopTo is selling the basic version for £189.85, representing a 24 per cent saving on its former price of £249.99. The premium version is still priced at £279.85.

According to CVG, Nintendo is not believed to have dropped the Wii U trade price, which is thought to be around £205, meaning that - if the figure is accurate – both retailers are selling the systems at a loss.

In January, Nintendo cut its Wii U sales forecast for the business year ending March 31, 2013 from 5.5 million units to four million following lower than expected uptake during the console’s launch window.

Multiple UK retailers recently called for Nintendo to cut the Wii U price in order to help drive sales, but company president Satoru Iwata expressly ruled out the possibility in January, noting: "With Wii U, we have taken a rather resolute stance in pricing it below its manufacturing cost, so we are not planning to perform a markdown. I would like to make this point absolutely clear.”

Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot recently said Wii U “has to sell more”, while Activision CEO Bobby Kotick has also expressed concern over the system’s performance, saying last month: “We were somewhat disappointed with the launch of the Wii U.”